Line #117 Recap/DoctorWhoS34E6TheCaretaker


1	[[WMG:[[center:[-''[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]]'' [[Recap/DoctorWho recap index]]\
2	'''Twelfth Doctor Era'''\
3	'''Series 8:''' [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath 1]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E2IntoTheDalek 2]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E3RobotOfSherwood 3]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E4Listen 4]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist 5]] \| '''6''' \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E7KillTheMoon 7]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E8MummyOnTheOrientExpress 8]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline 9]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E10InTheForestOfTheNight 10]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater 11]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E12DeathInHeaven 12]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWho2014CSLastChristmas CS]]\
4	'''[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor <<< 2013 Specials]]''' \| '''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice Series 9 >>>]]''']]-]]]
5	!The Caretaker
6	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dw_86_the_caretaker.jpg]]
7	[[caption-width-right:350:Trust him -- he's the [[AlmightyJanitor caretaker]].]]
8	[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see the RadioTimes magazine poster for this episode:]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_caretaker_poster_601.jpg "[[http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-09-26/doctor-who-exclusive-the-caretaker-poster-revealed Film noir meets Abigail's party]]". [[/labelnote]]]]
9	->Written by Gareth Roberts and Creator/StevenMoffat\
10	Directed by Paul Murphy\
11	'''Air date:''' 27 September 2014
12
13	->''"So, if anybody needs me just, you know, give me a shout. I’ll be in the storeroom just getting the lie of the land. Yes, nobody’s taking any notice at all. Absolutely good news because it means I must be coming across just as an absolutely boring human being like you. Deep cover, deep cover."''
14	-->-- '''The Doctor'''
15
16	JustForFun/{{The one w\|ith}}here the Doctor parks the TARDIS in a shed-like room near Coal Hill school. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild Again]].
17	----
18
19	Clara Oswald is a woman of two lives. She's an English teacher at a secondary school in Shoreditch and also Danny Pink's girlfriend. She's ''also'' the Doctor's companion, professional intergalactic traveler, self-admitted "carer"/walking external conscience and [[TheWatson question-asker]], who has to zip off every now and again for fun adventures with FishPeople, or rather less fun adventures where she almost dies in the desert.
20
21	Anyway, all that's ''fine'', and she can ''handle it''; honestly she can, as long as nobody ever actually ''meets''. The Doctor can stay in his box, and Danny can stay in the normal world with normal people, and that's all going to stay fine. Although, the Doctor's had to cancel their weekly trip this time -- he's hiding, somewhere he won't tell her, going into deep cover. Clara's not entirely sure he can ''do'' deep cover, but, never mind -- it gives her more time to work on things with Danny, who's starting to catch on to Clara's [[NoodleIncident sudden tans, seaweedy moistness or changes of clothing.]]
22
23	Then "John Smith" shows up at Coal Hill, introducing himself to the staff. He's the caretaker now (caretakers are cool) and you can just call him "the Doctor".
24
25	He's [[ChangedMyJumper got a different jacket on]], though, [[PaperThinDisguise so that's deep cover.]]
26
27	Clara promptly goes into panic mode, but by then an adventure's already happening -- the Doctor's hunting a Skovox Blitzer, an alien robot superweapon packing enough heat to take down the planet. Sure, they can save the world, but can Clara save her secrets? What's gonna happen if Danny Pink finds out?
28
29	----
30	!!Tropes:
31
32	* AllPartOfTheShow: Clara tries this by telling Danny the Skovox Blitzer getting sucked into the Vortex was for the upcoming school play. Not only does it not work, Danny takes it as an insult to his intelligence.
33	* AlmightyJanitor: The Doctor is a literal one, as he's undercover as the school's caretaker.
34	* AnswersToTheNameOfGod: Missy has this done on her behalf; when the PCSO looks out the window in the Promised Land and exclaims "My God!", Missy's assistant Seb sees her walk past and says she's "a little busy at the moment".
35	* AristocratsAreEvil: Danny's reaction to the Doctor upon hearing that he's a Time '''Lord'''. He deliberately provokes the Doctor's anger by addressing him as a superior officer, telling Clara that how the Doctor was at that moment was who he truly was.
36	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: The poor PCSO killed by the Skovox Blitzer ends up in the Promised Land. Missy is a bit busy, so her assistant aids in the transition this time.
37	* BadassFingersnap: Played for laughs as the Doctor and Clara, who both have acquired the ability to open and close the TARDIS' doors by snapping their fingers, find themselves briefly having a "fingersnap duel" over this.
38	* BadassNormal: Danny manages to draw the Skovox Blitzer's fire by doing an incredibly impressive rolling jump over it, giving the Doctor enough time to deactivate it.
39	* BeneathTheMask: Clara lends Danny the invisibility watch so he can be assured [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend she doesn't act differently around him]]. However, Danny soon turns off the watch because he realises the Doctor has worked out he's there; instead he provokes the Doctor into revealing his "officer" face.
40	* BigBad: The Skovox Blitzer, being the reason the Doctor is present at the school and nearly responsible for the deaths of everyone there.
41	* BigShutUp: The Doctor, when Danny begins flippantly mocking him.
42	* BlatantLies: Clara telling Danny the Skovox Blitzer being sucked into the Time Vortex was for a play.
43	* BreatherEpisode: This one has a lot more humor than the two previous episodes. On the other hand, it makes some major changes to the status quo.
44	* BrickJoke: The Doctor finally gets the position of Coal Hill School's caretaker, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks 26 years after]] the headmaster assumed that the Seventh Doctor was at the school to apply for it.
45	* CallingYourAttacks: The Skovox Blitzer calls out everything it does, not just its attacks.
46	-->[[AC:"Five-stop-intruder. Five-stop-intruder. Problem. Solution: Destroy."]]
47	* CantYouReadTheSign: Double subverted. The Doctor admonishes Courtney for ignoring his "Keep Out" sign. She points out that it actually reads "GO AWAY HUMANS", which, while still pertinent, is a bit harder to take seriously.
48	* CelestialBureaucracy: Compared to Missy's more colourful introductions, her assistant has the PCSO at a desk in an endless hallway full of doors.
49	* ChangedMyJumper: The TropeNamer parodies this when he acts surprised that Clara sees through his caretaker "disguise". All he did was put on a different jacket over his normal outfit.
50	* ColdOpen: The episode opens with the Doctor and Clara chained up on a desert planet for [[NoodleIncident some reason]].
51	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
52	** When Clara exasperatedly says that "human beings are not otters" to refute the Doctor's argument about how he can blend in to human society, the Doctor replies, "exactly, it'll be even easier". The grin at the end of this sentence [[InvokedTrope shows that he's doing this intentionally]].
53	** Clara drops a couple hints about her "new boyfriend" and his resemblance to a certain time traveler, meaning Orson from "Listen". The Doctor, with characteristic narcissism, assumes she's talking about another teacher who happens to look a bit like the Eleventh Doctor.
54	* ContinuityNod:
55	** The Doctor working at a school under the name John Smith? [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion Now where]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature have we seen]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E9TheFamilyOfBlood this before?]]
56	** The Doctor has [[Recap/DoctorWho2011CSTheDoctorTheWidowAndTheWardrobe worked as a caretaker]] before.
57	** During [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks a trip to Coal Hill in 1963]], the Dalek-controlled headmaster assumes that the Doctor is there to apply for the job of caretaker.
58	** Clara refers to Colonel [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E4Listen Orson Pink]] the time traveller.
59	** A banner at Coal Hill refers to "A Spirit of Adventure" -- you can see the quote that refers to on [[Series/DoctorWho the main page]] (from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E7TheSensorites The Sensorites]]", for what it's worth).
60	** In the promo image, a keen eye can make out Ian Chesterton's name on the school's plaque.
61	** [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor Headmaster Coburn]] is mentioned.
62	** The Doctor mentions the school and surrounding area being a hotbed of artron energy, previously established as being associated with the TARDIS' energy source. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild Gee]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E1AttackOfTheCybermen any]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks wonder]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E2IntoTheDalek why?]].
63	** The Doctor nicknaming a companion's boyfriend an insult isn't a new habit. Twelve calling Danny "PE" beckons back to the days Nine called Mickey Smith, boyfriend of his then-companion Rose Tyler, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E4AliensOfLondon Mickey the Idiot]]" and/or "Ricky".
64	** Besides Mickey, another male companion whose name the Doctor's brain just refused to retain was Coal Hill's Chairman of the Governors; Ian.
65	** The Doctor says to Clara, referring to Danny, "Shut him up, shut him down. Up or down, it doesn't matter to me," which sounds suspiciously similar to Two's dialogue in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks The Power of the Daleks]]":
66	--->'''Second Doctor:''' I want them broken up, or melted down. Up or down, I don't care which!
67	** In one scene, Clara can be seen standing in front of a world map, with the U.S. state of Alaska clearly visible in the center of the shot. One of her echoes served on the starship ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks Alaska]]''.
68	** The Doctor's [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem dislike of being saluted]].
69	* CringeComedy: Clara's increasingly absurd attempts to keep the two parts of her life separate, reaching its peak when she tries to convince her boyfriend that the alien death robot that nearly killed him was part of a rehearsal for a "surprise play".
70	* CrustyCaretaker: "John Smith" doesn't do a lot of caretaker work, but he otherwise fits the bill with his rudeness. [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Plus he's Scottish!]] In the Extra, Capaldi spends some time pointing out that the Doctor somewhat likes the idea of being a caretaker, in the sense that it's a chance to impress people with his MrFixit skills.
71	* DeadAllAlong: The policeman is musing how his experience [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall was just like science fiction]] when he suddenly wonders how he managed to escape the Skovox Blitzer.
72	* DeadHandShot: The Skovox Blitzer's first and only on-screen victim gets a pretty gruesome one; severed from the arm with charred smoking flesh and bones jutting out.
73	* DeadpanSnarker:
74	** The Doctor is in fine form, constantly taking shots at Danny, or "P.E.", and how he's not going to bother "retaining" that he's actually a maths teacher.
75	** Danny is no slouch in that department either, "sir". He can match the Doctor's "aristocratic attitude" snark for snark, "SIR!"
76	** Courtney also counts; constantly taunting Clara with remarks and notes on windows that "Ozzie loves the squaddie".
77	** Clara.
78	--->'''The Doctor:''' I used to have a teacher exactly like you.\
79	'''Clara:''' Well you still do, pay attention.
80	* DistaffCounterpart: This is the first episode to have a character directly point out that Clara is becoming more like the Doctor. This continues as a background character arc for the remainder of Clara's time on the series.
81	* DontCallMeSir: Played for drama in the Danny/Doctor SnarkToSnarkCombat because Danny hates military officers and the Doctor hates being regarded as one, and both because of their traumatic experiences in a war.
82	* DoppelgangerDating: Invoked: the Doctor assumes Clara is doing this with Adrian (who looks like his previous incarnation).
83	* DressingAsTheEnemy: When his temporal mines fail, the Doctor rigs up a device that makes him appear as another of the Skovox Blitzer's model, intended to be his superior officer. He then orders it to deactivate.
84	* {{Elopement}}: Danny compares Clara running off with the Doctor to this because he's jealous.
85	* EyeAmWatchingYou: A suspicious Clara does this when the Doctor cancels their adventure and says he's going under deep cover. Naturally, she's right when the new caretaker shows up.
86	* EyeTake: Clara delivers a few spectacular examples of this, such as when new caretaker Mr. Smith introduces himself, and later (combined with a bit of slapstick) when Clara spies the Doctor while trying to water a plant).
87	* FalseReassurance:
88	** "Of course we won't starve! The sand piranhas will get us long before that."
89	** Later:
90	--->'''Danny:''' You're using her like a decoy!\
91	'''The Doctor:''' No! Not ''like'' a decoy, [[GrammarNazi ''as'' a decoy]]!
92	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
93	** Danny describes the Doctor (over his strong objections) as "an officer". At the climax of the episode the Doctor disarms the Skovox Blitzer by impersonating its superior officer, a Skovox Artificer.
94	** Danny asks Clara to tell him if the Doctor pushes her too far. This happens in the very next episode.
95	* TheFourLoves:
96	-->'''Danny:''' Do you love him?\
97	'''Clara:''' No.\
98	'''Danny:''' Really had enough of the lies...\
99	'''Clara:''' [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend Not in that way]].\
100	'''Danny:''' What other way is there?
101	* FreudianSlip: "Never lose your temper in the middle of a door sign."
102	* GadgetWatch: The Doctor builds an invisibility watch as part of his initial plan to get rid of the Skovox Blitzer.
103	* TheGlomp: Clara glomps Danny after he saves the day.
104	* GreenEyedMonster:
105	** When Danny finds out that his girlfriend is off seeing "wonders" with an aristocratic former officer, he is seething with jealousy. He even refers to her adventures as "eloping" as if she were cheating on him.
106	** The Doctor's jealousy regarding Clara's new boyfriend is undisguised throughout the episode, and only gets worse when he discovers that she isn't actually dating a teacher who happens to superficially resemble his previous incarnation.
107	* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Danny asks Clara directly if she loves the Doctor. Her answer is not convincing to him.
108	* HeyThatsMyLine: The Doctor snaps his fingers to open the TARDIS doors, as he's been doing since the Library... and Clara snaps her own fingers to close them again, in just the same manner.
109	* IdenticalStranger: Downplayed. Adrian isn't perfectly identical to Matt Smith, but he has a very similar look to the Eleventh Doctor, right down to the hair and bowtie.
110	* TheILoveYouStigma: One of the few occasions in which this is averted, with Clara stating outright that she loves Danny, but also admitting to Danny that she loves the Doctor, too, just "not in that way".
111	* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: For a supposedly advanced killing machine, the Skovox Blitzer takes the phrase "spray n' pray" to a great extreme. The only person he manages to shoot, at least on-screen, is a stationary police officer.
112	* InformedAbility: The Skovox Blitzer is described as having enough firepower to destroy a planet. In practice, it can't even ''hit'' Clara from a short distance.
113	* InvisibilityCloak: The Doctor's wrist gadget renders him invisible. However, when Danny tries it, the Doctor can tell he's there due to picking up the slight disturbance in the light around him.
114	* JanitorImpersonationInfiltration: The Doctor undergoes one so he can hide some temporal mines at the school and lure the Skovox Blitzer there to get rid of him. It's not a completely straight example, as he actually got the job first, but he still had to remove the previous caretaker.
115	* {{Jerkass}}:
116	** The Doctor is ''amazingly'' rude to Danny when he finds out he's a soldier, calling him "PE", refusing to believe he's a math teacher, and nearly foaming at the mouth when Danny dares to get a word in edgewise.
117	** Danny is ''extremely'' rude when he finds out that the Doctor is a Time ''Lord'', as if he were some UpperClassTwit and deliberately antagonizes him.
118	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Danny eventually realizes the Doctor's just being protective of Clara. Likewise, the Doctor ''grudgingly'' gives Danny some credit for saving the world at the end.
119	-->'''The Doctor:''' It's a start.
120	* JumpedAtTheCall:
121	** Courtney wants into the TARDIS as soon as she finds out that it's not really a police box.
122	** For all his negativity towards the Doctor, it's Danny who first notices that the Doctor is trying to get hold of Clara as the Skovox Blitzer incident approaches its climax, and he's willing to help, even if the Doctor rebuffs him on this. Clara, of course, jumps in with both feet.
123	* KillerRobot: The Skovox Blitzer kills everything it sees.
124	* KirksRock: During the opening montage, the Doctor and Clara are seen tied to pillars with a rock formation in the background that looks almost identical to Vasquez Rocks.
125	* LampshadeHanging: Clara knows her status as MoralityPet. She tells the Doctor that the alternative to living without her is developing his own conscience.
126	* LetMeGetThisStraight
127	-->'''Clara:''' What do you think? Say something.\
128	'''Danny:''' So, there's an alien, that used to look like Adrian. Then he turned into a Scottish caretaker and every now and then, when I'm not looking, you elope with him.
129	* LeftYourLifesaverBehind: Our heroes are chained up in the desert on an alien world to be eaten by sand piranhas, and can't escape because Clara left the vibro-cutters in her other jacket back on Earth.
130	* LivingADoubleLife: Clara must come to terms with the pitfalls of having a normal life as a teacher intertwined with the mendacities that come with being the Doctor's companion.
131	* LoveConfession: Clara blurts out that she loves Danny. Given how he reacts, this may be the first time she says this with regard to him (and possibly admits it to herself).
132	* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: Clara's attempts to juggle her romance with her secret adventures is not going well, even before the Doctor turns up at her school.
133	* MathematiciansAnswer:
134	-->'''Clara:''' Is there an alien in this school?\
135	'''The Doctor:''' Yes. Me!
136	* MeaningfulEcho: Clara echoes River Song's "I hate you!" The Doctor assures her that's a perfectly normal reaction to him.
137	* MirrorCharacter:
138	** Danny and the Doctor are very alike. Both have been soldiers and both have tried to become better men. Because of this, Danny understands the Doctor far more than the Doctor would like to admit. In addition, the two also share in common their affection and concern for Clara, with both mutually concerned about the influence the other might have on her.
139	** Clara and Twelve. In this episode, both she and Danny do plenty of (understandable) complaining about his bossy attitude, but once the KillerRobot returns and the action begins, she acts much the same way while busy distracting the monster. Danny ends up proving himself more useful than either of them expected...
140	** Clara's slow progression to becoming a DistaffCounterpart to the Doctor continues as she once again demonstrates the ability to open and close the TARDIS' doors with a snap of her fingers.
141	** Twelve and Courtney -- she's a "disruptive" influence; the Doctor is absolutely thrilled to find someone who is an equally bad influence.
142	* MistakenForAliens: When Danny realizes the Skovox Blitzer is from outer space, he initially assumes Clara and the Doctor are both aliens (he's right in the latter case) and [[MistakenForRelated that the Doctor is Clara's father]].
143	* MrSmith: The Doctor uses his traditional alias, although, for the first time on-screen, he actually combines it with "The Doctor" (as opposed to "Dr. John Smith", which he'd used occasionally).
144	* MythologyGag:
145	** At this point in Twelve's life, the humans he's most familiar with are a pair of teachers and a troublesome young student. The Doctor's very first companions were exactly this.
146	** The tendency of the Doctor and his companion to do a lot of running down corridors from people shooting at them is lampshaded in a NoodleIncident that only consists of that.
147	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Skovox Blitzer. Knowing the history of London and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz the Blitz]] heightens the effect.
148	* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
149	** Danny removing several temporal mines messes up the Doctor's plan royally.
150	** The Doctor says the Skovox Blitzer is hanging around the school because of all the "artron emissions" that have gathered there over the years, implicitly as a result of the Doctor's visits.
151	* TheNicknamer: The Doctor dubs Danny Pink "P.E." in this episode as a sign of contempt. ("P.E." stands for "physical education", as in the Doctor thinks Danny teaches phys-ed because he can't or won't accept the notion of an ex-soldier being a maths teacher).
152	* NoodleIncident:
153	** The Doctor mentions having sulked among otters for a month after a fight with River Song.
154	** Clara's trips with the Doctor at the start of the episode are a series of these: chained up to die on a desert planet, FishPeople, being shot at...
155	** Danny mentions Clara turning up for a date once wearing a space helmet.
156	** Subverted when the Doctor corrects Clara on Creator/JaneAusten in front of her students. Clara thinks its because he had some grand adventure with her, but that's not the case; He's simply read the biography on the back of the book.
157	* NotListeningToMeAreYou: Clara races off after class to find out what the Doctor is up to, but gets repeatedly waylaid by people asking things she'd normally be upset about. She agrees to everything they say just to get past.
158	* OffScreenMomentOfAwesome: The Doctor and Clara somehow managed to escape the sand piranhas without the vibro-cutters.
159	* OhCrap:
160	** Clara's expression turns into silent panic when the faculty meets the new caretaker.
161	** Clara has a brief moment of this when the Doctor informs her that there are aliens -- other than himself -- at the school.
162	** The Doctor's reaction when he realizes the time mines aren't working due to Danny removing some.
163	** Clara's reaction as her attempt to pass off the Doctor's actions as a school play collapses.
164	** PlayedForLaughs when Clara returns from an adventure involving a lot of running from hostile aliens, only to find a track-suited Pink outside ready to go jogging with her.
165	* OneDialogueTwoConversations: The Doctor revealing that he knows about Clara's boyfriend, saying that he reminds him of a "young, dashing time-traveller": Clara thinks he's talking about Danny and Orson Pink; the Doctor is actually talking about Adrian and the Eleventh Doctor.
166	* PaperThinDisguise: The Doctor thinks that putting on a different coat qualifies as "deep cover".
167	* PoliceAreUseless: A Policeman is easily and quickly killed by the Blitzer.
168	* ReplacementGoldfish:
169	** The Doctor mistakes Clara's colleague, Adrian, for her boyfriend. Adrian, who has [[Creator/MattSmith a square jaw, quiffy sidecombed hair]], and a bowtie. He's flattered, of course.
170	** He also sounds Courtney out as a possible substitute for Clara, and even gives her a trial trip in the TARDIS.
171	* RoboSpeak: Everything the Skovox Blitzer says.
172	-->[[AC:"Nine-stop-query rescan. Target reacquired. Success-success."]]
173	* RoboticPsychopath: The Skovox Blitzer is programmed to think that the answer for almost every problem is to destroy the source/obstruction and apparently had been designed to not differentiate between enemy combatants and unarmed civilians despite any claims from the target of being friendly and harmless. If ordered to shut down without the necessary final input code, it will self-destruct and destroy the planet that it is on.
174	* SecretMessageWink: After the Doctor introduces himself to the teachers as John Smith, the new caretaker, he adds, "most people just call me the Doctor," and winks at Clara, the only one who knows his real identity. Later, Danny asks Clara if she saw the new caretaker wink at her; she dismisses the thought, saying it was probably just a "general welcoming wink" meant for everyone in the room.
175	* SecretTestOfCharacter: While the Doctor really doesn't like Danny, a lot of his jerkish behavior is an attempt to find out if he's good enough for Clara. Danny spots this fairly early (probably around when he thought the Doctor was her dad) and calls him on it at the end, at which point the Doctor confirms it.
176	* SeeTheInvisible: The Doctor knew Danny was in the TARDIS; one of his special Time Lord senses is sensitivity to active cloaking devices (at least of the light wave-based type Danny was using).
177	* SelfDestructMechanism: When the Doctor fails to properly authenticate his shutdown order, the Skovox Blitzer activates a self-destruct sequence. Danny distracts the Skovox Blitzer long enough for the Doctor to correct the error.
178	* ShapedLikeItself: Two examples in rapid succession.
179	-->'''Clara:''' You're being mysterious, and do you know what means?\
180	'''Doctor:''' I'm a man of mystery.\
181	...\
182	'''Doctor:''' I'll see you when I see you.\
183	'''Clara:''' When's that?\
184	'''Doctor:''' When I see you.
185	* ShoutOut:
186	** The PCSO's shoulder number begins with "SO"... as did the ones in ''Series/TheBill''.
187	** Clara's line that the Doctor is "a clever man making the mistake common to clever people of assuming that everyone else is stupid" is from ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency'', written by former ''Doctor Who'' script editor Creator/DouglasAdams.
188	** The Doctor whistles Music/PinkFloyd (specifically, the recurring four-note arpeggio motif from ''Music/TheWall'', best known for its use in the "we don't need no education" line in "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II").
189	** Danny calls the Doctor Clara's [[WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}} space dad]].
190	** Clara covers up her shenanigans with the Doctor by telling Danny [[WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1 they're rehearsing for a play]].
191	** When Clara shows Danny the invisibility watch, Danny's response is to ask why it isn't [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings a ring]].
192	** The head of the Skovox Blitzer bears a striking resemblance to that of the [[Characters/MassEffectRaceTropesCitadelCouncil turians]] from the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' universe. [[http://static02.mediaite.com/themarysue/uploads/2014/09/image8-640x358.jpg A picture of the two side-by-side for comparison.]]
193	** An alien version of KirksRock can be seen in the background of the opening scene.
194	** Clara is teaching her students about ''Pride and Prejudice''. In late 2013, Jenna Coleman co-starred in the miniseries ''Literature/DeathComesToPemberley'', a sequel to ''Pride and Prejudice''.
195	* SpannerInTheWorks: Danny sticks around after-hours while the Doctor is trying to send the Skovox Blitzer a few billion years into the future, finding some of his temporal mines. This disrupts the temporal field and instead sends the Skovox Blitzer forward one day, in the middle of a parent-teacher conference, and renders the mines unusable because the Skovox Blitzer has adapted.
196	* TemptingFate: Clara promises Danny that the next few days will be all about him. Then the Doctor shows up as the school's caretaker.
197	* ThrownOutTheAirlock: The Doctor pitches the deactivated Skovox Blitzer out the TARDIS door and into space.
198	* TitleDrop: The Doctor goes undercover as a caretaker at Coal Hill School.
199	* TrailersAlwaysLie:
200	** Apart from a couple shots of the Skovox Blitzer, every scene in the trailers was taken from the first five minutes of the episode. Except for one scene that, for some reason, is actually taken from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E4Listen Listen]]".
201	** The voice of the Skovox Blitzer also sounds erratic in the trailer, unlike its deep and consistent modulated voice in the story.
202	* TheTriple: "Every time I see you, you're in a rush. In a state. In a space helmet, one time..."
203	* TwerpSweating: The interaction between Danny and the Doctor, albeit of a particularly unpleasant variety.
204	* TheUnmasking: Danny learns the truth about Clara's relations with the Doctor and his TARDIS. ''Courtney'' learns of the Doctor as well.
205	* VomitDiscretionShot: When Courtney first sees space from inside the TARDIS, she dashes back inside and can be heard throwing up.
206	* WeWereRehearsingAPlay: Clara tries this excuse when Danny catches her and the Doctor red-handed fighting the Skovox Blitzer. [[BlatantLies He doesn't believe it for a moment.]]
207	* WhatTheHellHero:
208	** Danny does this to both Clara and the Doctor; Clara for lying to him and trying to pass off the incident with the killer alien robot as a "school play", and the Doctor for seemingly treating the whole thing casually and endangering Clara.
209	** The Doctor does this to Danny for disabling his trap and thereby putting everyone on Earth in greater danger.
210	* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: Subverted when the Doctor takes Courtney out into space to show her galactic wonders. Instead, she throws up.
211	* YearInsideHourOutside: Clara goes on adventures with the Doctor and is back a moment later, causing trouble for her dates with Danny.
212	* YouAreWhatYouHate: Danny posits that the reason the Doctor doesn't like him is because they're both soldiers; Danny's a grunt while the Doctor is an officer. That being said, Danny seems to assume that the Doctor was an "armchair general" type rather than the kind of person who led from the front.
213	* YoureNotMyType: Clara says that adorkable bowtie-wearing Adrian is not her type -- cue ReactionShot from the Doctor.

Context Recap / DoctorWhoS34E6TheCaretaker